2011, the year of Italian language and culture in Russia and of Russian language and culture in Italy, couldn’t start any better for art lovers in Rome!

There are at least 6 different exhibits about Russia in Rome at the moment that will ideally bring us into this magic land.

The most important one is by Marc Chagall, who was actually Jewish and born in current Belarus, but at his time this country was politically and culturally part of Russia. The artworks (23 paintings and 68 drawings) of the most famous painter of this area of the world and a pioneer of modernism will be on display at Ara Pacis until March 27. “The Upside Down World of Chagall” celebrates the 25th anniversary of the death of one of the most successful artists of the 20th century.

If Chagall has often been the subject of interesting expositions here in Rome, Aleksandr Deineka, instead, never had a monographic exhibition out of Russia. And it is no coincidence that Rome will be the first city to host such an event, since the Soviet Union’s greatest and most famous realist painter made a crucial trip to Rome, where he stayed in 1935, producing some of his key works. The paintings, drawings, illustrations, posters and sculptures of the “Sovietic Master of Modernity” are on show at Palazzo delle Esposizioni until May 1. Over eighty works from major Russian museums provide an overview of the entire career of an artist who explored form and esthetics in a completely new way.

The San Salvatore in Lauro Museums host two different exhibtions about Russia. The first is on the Russian Academy of Fine Arts in Moscow and tells the story of this institution (founded in the 18th century), its main figures and events with photos, drawings and documents underlining the constant relationship with Italian arts. The second shows the paintings, graphics and low-reliefs of Zurab Tsereteli, who was the Academy’s Dean, famous for his monumental works. Piazza San Salvatore in Lauro, 15. Monday to Saturday 10am-12pm, 4pm-7pm. Free Entrance. Until April 10.

Another small art venue, the HC Andersen Museum, is displaying the works of a Russian artist for this cultural exchange event between Italy and Russia. Fifty works for a half century career (1960-2010) by Mikhail Koulakov, a contemporary artist who relocated to Italy in 1976, will show his strong relationship with the Italian art. “The Spirituality of Sign” runs until May 29. Tuesday to Sunday 9:30am-7:30pm. Free Admission. Via Pasquale Stanislao Mancini, 20.

Finally the Russian Winter will be on show at Rome’s National Museum of Folks Art. More that 200 works from many major Russian Museums explain the traditions of the Russian winter holidays. Costumes, sleights, coaches, paintings and other objects will make you really feel the icing cold of Russian winters! Piazza Gugliemo Marconi 8. Until May 8. Tuesday to Sunday 9am-8pm.